In 2019, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced it was going to investigate an unusually high number of gray whales found dead along the North American west coast. In 2019, 214 washed up on the beaches and coasts of Mexico, the United States and Canada — 34 in California, 13 in San Francisco Bay. While the death of these whales is tragic, Milstein said, it offers an opportunity to “better understand what’s affecting the other 20,000 remaining gray whales out there.”Most California gray whales migrate from summer feeding grounds in the Bering and Chukchi seas near Alaska to winter calving areas along Mexico’s Baja peninsula. The whales appearing in San Francisco Bay are migrating north. AdvertisementFor now, boaters in the San Francisco Bay should go slow and be cautious, George said.

Source: Los Angeles Times May 07, 2021 03:22 UTC